Wood could replace bone implants

THIS year, wood could replace bone as orthopaedic implants. The technology could exploit the hierarchical physical structure of rattan wood to render it useful as a scaffold, thus creating a synthetic material to replace damaged and lost bone.

An additional benefit is that such a material could be load-bearing, a factor that has precluded the use of earlier biomimetic materials.

File photo: Surgeons at work

However, the processing of raw wood to remove chemical components, which are incompatible with implants for humans, is long and complex. But the professors believe the benefits of producing a material, which is similar to bone, far outweigh such issues.

The process of turning wood into implants involves heat treatment of the wood to remove cellulose, lignin and other plant materials. This leaves behind a carbon skeleton that can be infiltrated and reacted with calcium, oxygen and phosphate to make a porous material, which in turn can chemically and mechanically mimic bone.

In concluding, the research team say that unlike metal alloys, ceramics and even donor bone, their patented material is low cost, has very good biomechanics and is biocompatible. It can also be integrated into existing bone, thus properly assisting bone regeneration.